The Valery Trails: Buffalo Speedway [Album]

The Valery Trails is a band that has been several years in the making.  As they sometimes seem to do, consequences arrive that tend to skew the seemingly definite plans we make.  Sometimes we never return to the passion, and eventually die off with nothing to show for it.  Well, thankfully enough brothers Andrew and Sean Bower never forgot about the magic they created oh so many years ago in one format or another, and we are still blessed with the beautiful sounds of The Valery Trails, and are fortunate enough to hear them even more on their sophomore release Buffalo Speedway.

The Bower brothers, joined by the immaculate drummer Dan McNaulty, create energetic yet calming alternative rock songs that are extremely reminiscent of the days when college radio reigned supreme, and the term “alternative” meant something, anything at all.  Buffalo Speedway is an exceptional collection of proof of just how talented and important The Valery Trails are.  The sound is not too extreme, but definitely not without sass and grind.  It is just loud enough to be exciting, but calm enough to not leave you in disarray after a complete listen.  It is an album that just leaves you feeling good all over.

If you enjoy solid guitar work, unique vocals, and wonderfully produced rock and roll songs, there is absolutely no excuse for you to not check out The Valery Trails and their sophomore release Buffalo Speedway.  If you can appreciate melodies, harmonies, and over calming sensations, this is the album you are supposed to be listening to right this second.  You owe it to yourself to throw this band’s sound into your life.

Buffalo Speedway will be available on April 29th, 2014.  Check out the band’s website for more information, and to hear a few tracks from the album.

Kathryn Caine and the Small Band: Kathryn Caine and the Small Band [Album]

When I first dropped down the digitalized and hypothetical needle onto this new record from Kathryn Caine, I found myself wondering just one thing: Why am I only hearing this now?  This self titled release with the Small Band is far from her first release as I would come to learn.  Caine has stunning audiences with her wonderful Americana meets country meets gritty Gospel infused vocals and songwriting for several years.  And although I am only now coming to know this twang laced songstress, it certainly feels as though she has never missed a beat as this is some down home goodness I am so happy to have discovered.

The album features a variation of lyric driven tracks, with guitar work that is reminiscent of some sort of floating dock in a country setting, with checkered tablecloth covered picnic tables spread about, and a feeling of happiness floating in the air.  Even when Caine belts out words about running away or crying as she does on “Beatle Song”, it is still so uplifting and powerful that if you know at sort of two step, you may just want to grab a partner and sway your problems as well as the night away.  It behooves me to state that I am not usually a fan of most country music.  And being quite the moody son of a bitch at times, good time music may not compute.  But when it comes to sounds like this, even my grumpy self can’t help but feel uplifted and with a feel of praise for this beautiful life we live in.

Kathryn Caine’s excellence comes mostly from her ability to take old and sometimes tired forms of Americana and country and making them new, fresh, and entirely unique.  And this album with the Small Band is about as perfect of an example for how great it can be to bring back the old days, when tears and whiskey and a little foot stomping reigned supreme.  For fans of the old days of down home music, you are not likely to find another album as wonderful as this one.

Anja McCloskey & Dan Whitehouse: Still EP [Album]

Or old friend with one of the sweetest voices and killer accordion skills in indie rock history, Anja McCloskey, is back once again!  And this time she has brought along the equally brilliant Birmingham (UK) based singer/songwriter Dan Whitehouse to help create the absolutely stunning and beautiful EP they have called Still.  Where Anja’s vocals are almost extravagant and sweetly exasperated, Dan’s soft folk heavy voice follows up with his own brand of sweetness and the delicacy of a dandelion in the light wind.  Seriously, we should feel so fortunate that these two fine folksmiths have found each other, and have shared their talents with the world.

Still is a small collection of tracks that will surely leave you breathless and begging for more when it ends, all too soon.  In fact, the only complaint I can come up with when listening to this album is that there just isn’t more of it!  But that being said, this is a brilliant sample of the treasures that McCloskey and Whitehouse have right on hand and available for you.  It seems trite and ridiculous to try and pick a standout track, but I do have to admit that “Petals” was probably on repeat the most.  It is one of the less complex tracks on the record, but that may very well be what is so damn compelling.  Let it be known, this is one of the finest displays of folk music this writer has heard since Robin Grey’s released our favorite album of 2011, Strangers With Shoes.  And it is not just that Whitehouse’s style is similar to Grey’s, it is that both of these artists are along the same lines of brilliant as him.

And if a few tracks turns out to be just not enough for you as it was for me, you may be in luck!  Well, if you find yourself in the Canada or Germany you will have a few great chances.  The duo will be doing a couple of shows in Anja’s current home country, as well as a nice little Canadian tour.  Check out these dates and see if you can make it!  You really owe it to yourself, you know.

9th January 2014 – House Concert in Kronprinzenkoog (Anja Only, w/Fredrick Kinborn and Mike Kenney)
10th January 2014 – Industriemuseum Elmshorn (Anja Only, w/Fredrick Kinborn and Mike Kenney)
11th January 2014 – The Boat that Rocks, Flensburg (Anja Only, w/Fredrick Kinborn and Mike Kenney)
24th January 2014 – Bozzini’s, Chilliwack, BC, Canada
25th January 2014 – Benoit’s Wine Bar, Revelstoke, BC, Canada

26th January 2014 – Wild Flour Bakery, Banff, AB, Canada
28th January 2014 – Harvest Coffee House, Pincher Creek, AB, Canada, 2pm
29th January 2014 – Centre 64, Kimberley, AB, Canada
30th January 2014 – Cafe Books West, Rossland, BC, Canada, 7pm
31st January 2014 – Minstrel Cafe and Bar, Kelowna, BC, Canada
1st February 2014 – The Art We Are, Kamloops, BC, Canada
2nd February 2014 – Cafe Deux Soleils, Vancouver, BC, Canada

You can also pre-order your copy of Still right HERE.  Official release date is January 20th 2014.

Electric Needle Room: It’s Getting Personal [Album]

Electric Needle Room is a band that has been on my radar for about as long as I have been writing about music.  In most recent years, you may recognize the band’s name from some features we have done on the Presidents of the United States of America volumes that one half of the group, Sir Matt Beat, has been releasing under the moniker that I thoroughly enjoy and find just as catchy and lovely as they are informative and enlightening.

But, Electric Needle Room is indeed two folks.  Brothers actually.  Matt and Steven Beat to be even more precise.  And for many years now, these two have been delighting audiences with the most indie popish, indie pop songs you will ever hear.  And on their latest effort It’s Getting Personal (technically ENR’s 7th album), they bring more of the brilliance I have held to be self-evident.  As you could imagine from a band featuring a guy who wrote a song about every president in history (even Millard Fillmore for chrissakes), the storytelling is absolutely amazing.  Simple pop tunes about real life, all in realm of bands like They Might Be Giants or Barenaked Ladies.  There are songs about Twitter, Facebook, dancing like no one is watching, simply surviving, and so much more.  Yes, It’s Getting Personal is another brilliant display of the finest indie pop group with a brilliant grace of storytelling to come out of Kansas since, well, probably ever.  I seriously could never get enough of these two.  Their songs are without a doubt create some of the most fun listening experiences I have ever had.

And if their music wasn’t intriguing enough, some of their promotional practices are intriguing as well.  For example, they are currently running an Indiegogo Campaign to help spread the joyous words of Electric Needle Room across the glove via college radio.  If you know anything about myself or my work, you know that I absolutely adore college radio and community radio stations.  They are seriously the only dials worth tuning in to.  I also love helping out bands get the word about the beauty they create, all the while getting some cool swag for doing so!  Seriously, for just a $5 donation to this campaign, you will be e-mailed a compact disc version of It’s Getting Personal as well as a sticker which claims that “Electric Needle Room is the 1,536th Best Band in the World”.  And for $20, they will even throw in a t-shirt.  And if you are Mr. or Mrs. Moneybags, for a chump change of $100, you can get all of this as well as a song written by Matt Beat, about whatever the hell you want!  This is an opportunity that is not to be missed.

But, if you are just a common listener, and not looking to become a part of a college radio campaign that could change history, that is fine.  I guess.  You can listen to and even download for FREE your own copy of It’s Getting Personal.  The very least you could do is check out these beautiful songs written with a zeal and zest for life and the art of telling stories about who fun and/or disparaging it can be.  Head on over to their Bandcamp page to do so.

Small Bear Records presents Tinsel Machine [Album]

Anyone who knows me personally could rightfully attest to the fact that I am not a huge fan of the holiday season.  It’s cold, materialistic, and just down right annoying to be a part of.  Yes, I know it is a time to get with the family and express our love for one another and blah, blah, blah.  And yes, I partake in all the holiday events to keep the excitement alive in my children’s lives, but inside I am the ill-conceived love child of the Grinch and Ebenezer Scrooge.  Only difference being that there hasn’t been a ghost or creepy looking 5-year-old to show me the error of my way.

And what is the most annoying part of the holidays for a snob like me?  It definite has to be the music.  I die inside a little more each time I hear about that dumb old woman who got run over by a reindeer.  Yes, whether it is songs about bells making their obvious tones, or some freak reindeer who must have been more near a nuclear power plant or some such place.  This is why I was sort of surprised when a dear friend of mine suggested that I check out a collection of “Christmas Songs” that was recently released by the brilliant indie label known as Small Bear Records.  On their second annual Christmas compilation, Small Bear pulls out the big guns with some of their finest artists as well as few guests.

There is a little bit of everything for everyone on this 16 track collection.  There is an alternative instrumental version of an old Christmas classic that I can actually dig, “All I Want For Christmas Is You”, performed by the great Nanaki.  Klur Confused & The Fuck Pigs have the nice little punk rock ditty that is aptly titled, “Fuck Christmas”.  46 perfect seconds if you ask me!  Even more enjoyable are brilliantly honest tracks like “There’s Nothing Very Interesting To Say About Snow” from Eight to Infinity and “Crushed at Christmas” by The Bordellos.  And our old pal Phil the Tremolo King in his infinite wisdom even shows up with a beautiful duel of instrumentals “A Walk In the Snow/Oh Tannenbaum”, which is absolutely delightful, even to my dear black heart.

Yes, I may not be a huge fan of this time of year.  And I seriously can’t stand some of the music.  But, occasionally something cool like what Small Bear Records has produced comes along to lift the spirits even an old Scrooge like me.  So if you are like me, find a little something to make yourself a bit happier this time of year with Small Bear Records’ Tinsel Machine.

Pick up a copy of Tinsel Machine on a name your price scale right HERE.

Secrets For September: Letting Go EP [Album]

It has been a while since I got around to reporting the latest news from one of my favorite European indie labels known as Pastime Records.  The time was about due.  And what in to my wondering fingertips should appear in my inbox, but a bit of good news from the label on one of its latest acts to join the roster known as Secrets For September.  And boy was I blown away.  I believe the phrase “delightfully surprised” is a perfect explanation.

I have come to expect a few things from Pastime Records.  Acts like Andy B, Falling Trees, National Pastime, and more have all created some beautiful indie-pop cuts that I have always enjoyed.  But, Secrets For September is a bit different.  Pastime has seemed to dive in to the world of, wait for it, straight up rock and roll!  And while I will always enjoy the jingle jangley ditties to be released, I also know when it is a perfect time to rock out to genius guitar work and brilliantly written power ballads.  And nothing gets me more excited to rock than hearing a beautiful female fronted band like this one.

Frontwoman Ellie Taylor has a beautiful voice that creates sensational melodies behind Matthew North’s wonderful guitar work.  And as the rest of the band emerges to create a solid state of rock and roll, it is just a damn beautiful site.  Their latest single “Letting Go” is a bit more light hearted than some of their other tracks, but is still a wonderful example of good times filled with happy rock.      Their latest EP in support of “Letting Go” features this brilliant new single, and four wonderful live tracks, including a ten and half minute experience of their cut “Friends Forever” that could go on for hours as far as I am concerned.

Yes, I can say with the utmost confidence that Secrets For September is a wonderful, and different, addition to the Pastime Records roster and/or history. The songs are gold as far as lyrical matter is concerned, and the sound of the group is absolutely tight and brilliantly conceived.  There is so much to love about this group already, it is exhilarating to think about what might be next for them.  I know I will be sticking around to find out simply because “Letting Go” might very well be one of the best singles of 2013.  Yes, it is that damn good.

Collisionville: The Revenge of Two-Gun Pete [Album]

Any true fan of rock n roll music can relate to the feeling that being reminiscent of days past can be a dangerous bit of ground to tread when it comes to digging in to new music.  There will always be many nostalgia driven musicians out there who will be stuck in their ways from the “good old days”, and we should be entirely thankful for this.  So let’s say that I am very grateful for a bad like Collisionville.  This San Francisco based group of old school stylized rockers is almost too good to be true for fans of modernized “classic” rock, and their latest album The Revenge of Two-Gun Pete is a phenomenal collection of original tracks from a group that blends CCR with a bit of Neil Young, and then throws in some Jack White-esque creativity in there for good measure.

The Revenge of Two-Gun Pete in its entirety seems like a tribute to so many different styles of music, spanning 60 years or so.  There is a bit of a jingle jangling country on the album’s title track, as well as on “Heart Out in the Sun”, although this cut quickly turns in to a terrific sort of power rock ballad pretty quickly as well.  There is even a bit of 90’s radio friendly alternative on the album’s opening cut “The Ballad of Herman P. Willis”.  But beyond the homages to several decades of rock and roll, there is also some damn beautiful songwriting going on here.  Beautifully sad, or simplistically true tales of a life better left lived.  Frontman Stephen Pride spills his soul to us so perfectly whether he is picking a banjo, or strumming the old six string until his heart bleeds.  This is good time music for all the sad times, and down beat music for the upbeat times.

Collisionville may not strike you as a truly innovative group on first listen.  But, give it a second listen, and you might just fall in love with their divine nature.  The are old timey, filled with stripped down acoustics, and just a whole gaggle of fun.  And their album The Revenge of Two-Gun Pete is a wonderful example of the well orchestrated mayhem these rocking ramblers are able to create.  If you find yourself in the Bay Area, or wherever the road may take these cool cats, it would behoove you see these guys live and in person.  I could only imagine just how much fun that could be!

Pick up a copy of The Revenge of Two-Gun Pete for yourself right HERE.

Steve Martin & Edie Brickell: Love Has Come For You [Album]

It has been my experience that nothing can make you feel like such a hipster douche as discovering an amazing new album  featuring two people that you truly admire….whilst wondering aimlessly through a Wal Mart.  This very event happened to me just a week ago.  I had a few minutes to kill, so I decided to do the old school routine and look through the racks.  Of course, I seem to have taken myself off the radar what the big cats have been doing these days, so I was absolutely enthralled when I saw one of my favorite actors has teamed up with one of the finest female vocalists of our time to create Love Has Come For You, a wonderful little batch of Appalachian style bluegrass songs performed precisely on key and true to form.

It is widely known to most that Steve Martin is not only a brilliant comedic and dramatic actor, he is also an acclaimed banjo picker.  Anybody who has watched Martin and Kermit the Frog duel it out can attest to this.  And Brickell has proven herself in the last three decades as being one of the finest female vocalists and songwriters of the modern era.  And on Love Has Come For You, the duo manage to blend a beautiful mixture of old school mixed with something old, something new, and everything wonderful.  Even the album’s opening line is symbolic and proof to this claim (“When you get to Asheville/send me an e-mail”).  For fans of bluegrass, this is probably one of the best albums of the genre to be released in a very long time.  And for fans of Brickell, you might just find her best work as a vocalist to date.

Each track on this amazing album is a wonderful little story in its own right.  Some are happy.  Some are sad.  And some are downright silly at times.  But what makes this album so wonderful is the exhilarating experience it is as a whole to listen to these two masterminds of all things creative express their love for self expression in such a fun way.  If you can’t sit with a goofy grin on your face when you listen to “Sarah Jane and the Iron Mountain Baby”, then you must have sold your soul to the worst kind of devil.  Steve Martin and Edie Brickell may have just introduced the world of bluegrass to a whole new audience in the same manner that Robert Plant and Alison Krauss did a few years ago.  Except much better!  Let’s just hope they choose to listen.  Or that my fellow pretentious douchers find themselves wandering aimlessly in a Wal Mart as well to discover this amazing album.  Although now that I know it exists, I would recommend iTunes.  You’re welcome everyone!

Dedere: Little Ease in the Bell Jar [Album]

Several years ago, during the second or third phase of social media hierarchies taking control, and in the early days of my “career” writing about music, I wrote about a little known and now disbanded group known as The Golden Year.  They didn’t last long, only releasing one EP on a small little Olympia WA based record label that doesn’t seem to exist anymore either.  But I can clearly remember stating that frontman Jared Brannan was like the Dostoevsky of folk music due to his incredulous and thought provoking song writing.  That was over six years ago, and a few more bands in the books, but the same truths hold themselves to be self evident when I hear Jared, now much holder and more mature (one would imagine), spill his emotional guts with his much anticipated return to music with his new project Dedere and new album Little Ease in the Bell Jar.

Though calling Dedere a folk act would probably be a bit misguided, it is certainly obvious that the aura of storytelling is as important of a factor to Jared as it was oh so many years ago (what I’ve deemed “the Myspace dynasty”).  For Little Ease in the Bell Jar, Brannan also has recruited some new friends as well as some old.  TWS family member Adam Smith (Grandhorse) even returns to work with Jared in support of a few tracks, as well as a plethora of other fine Portland based musicians.  But, what is most awe inspiring about this collection of tracks is the obvious and immense amount of personal triumph that is on display for the world to hear.  This album may literally be a few years in the making, but the end result almost sounds as though it is actually closer to 30 years in the making for Jared Brannan.

With elements of electronic driven rave sequences with a mixed bag of soft core folk rock melodies, there really is so much to love about Little Ease in the Bell Jar.  From start to finish, this is a wonderful album to blare in your studio apartment between episodes of Twin Peaks and your second pot of coffee on a cold winter’s day when all you want to do is say “fuck the world”, I’m living in the bell jar today.  So relax your mind, and find the time to lose yourself in the pretty little screwed up work that Jared Brannan has been waiting his whole life to share with you, the worthy recipients of crime, punishment, and a trip through the haunted house of his soul.  Or, you know, just enjoy some damn good storytelling and magnificent musicianship.  The choice is yours.

Check out Little Ease in the Bell Jar for yourself right HERE. 

Marshall McLean Band: Glossolalia [Album]

Just in the nick of time, Marshall McLean and his new band of sorrow filled yet merry men have managed to create one of my favorite albums of the year!  Yes, the former frontman of one of the finest groups to ever emerge from Eastern Washington known as The Horse Thieves has created yet another landmark album to come from the Spokane area.  Glossolalia is a thought provoking and intelligent collection of folk tracks that have heart, spirit, and most importantly – a healthy helping of soul.

Marshall’s voice is so distinctive and noticeable, that it is almost impossible not to compare him and his new band to The Horse Thieves, a group that has graced the digital pages of this site time and time again.  But, there is definitely a few differences to be noted.  Well, differences might be a bit of an overstatement, maybe just advancements.  There is definitely a bit more electric tools being used thanks to the addition of fellow Eastern Washington/Northern Idaho based musicians like bassist Justin Landis (who has some of the finest bass lines I have ever heard in folk music), Jamie Frost who kills it on the steel pedals, and Caleb Ludwig beating his way to heaven on his Ludwig drum kit.  With so much talent strewn about on this album, it is like supergroup for little known artists who have been entertaining the city of Spokane and its surround areas for such a great long while.

I always find myself at a sort of bias conundrum when it comes to hearing new works from Marshall McLean or any of his associates.  But, it is with great reason.  These guys are simply incredible!  It has been two years since I stumbled in on an acoustic set of Marshall McLean and a few friends on a winter’s Tuesday night and was absolutely stunned by his stimulating storytelling, beautifully simplistic guitar work, and the ability to create an overall warm feeling as he strummed through his tales of happens and pain, travel and longing, and everything in between.  So, it is such a damn pleasure and relief to be that Glossolalia is not just another addition to his musical library, it might be his best work to date.  With a new band in place, a new set of eyes to the future, there are no limits to how far Marshall McLean Band can ride the same old dusty trails that many modern folk groups have wondered down, and also come out with clean boots and strong sense of accomplishment.  Because when you have an album as good as this in your holster, there is now way you are going to lose the draw.  This is a beautiful collection of brilliantly told and performed tales for the modern folk fan.  It is definitely an album that is not to be missed.

You can listen to and pick up a copy of Glossolalia at the bands WEBSITE right now!  So what are you waiting for?